Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 23-03-2023

Q1. Who among the following established the Arya Samaj?

a. Raja Ram Mohan Roy

b. Gopal Krishna Gokhale

c. Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati

d. Mahadev Govind Ranade

Answer (c)

Explanation:

Dayanand Saraswati’s life is an inspiration for Modi govt.: Shah

The Prime Minister is working for national awakening, a concept originally based on the philosophy and teachings of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati,” said Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the 148th Foundation Day celebrations of Arya Samaj.

Mr. Shah said Maharishi Dayanand awakened the soul of the country which had been in slumber for years and maintained that a similar situation is prevailing at present as well. Hence Arya Samaj and its public outreach is the ‘need of the hour’.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken inspiration from the life of Dayanand Saraswati to take the country forward to make it a “vishwa guru”,” he added.

The Maharishi fearlessly propagated “swadharma, swabhasha and swaraj” in the pre-Independence era at a time when talking about these was prohibited.

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to the waste to energy projects

1. Waste-to-energy projects use non-recyclable dry waste to generate electricity.

2. Products from solid waste may include compost, biogas and electricity

3. The non-biodegradable may include hard plastics, metals, and e- waste

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a. 1 and 2 only

b. 2 and 3 only

c. 2 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Understanding Waste-To-Energy Plants

The Kerala government recently announced the State’s first waste-to- energy project in Kozhikode. The planned facility is expected to be built in two years and generate about 6 MW of power. There are around 100 waste-to-energy projects around the country but only a handful of them are operational, thanks to various production and operational challenges.

What Do Waste-To-Energy Projects Do?

• Waste-to-energy projects use non-recyclable dry waste to generate electricity. The process increases the State’s power generation capacity and eases the solid waste management (SWM) burden.

• Generally, solid waste in India is 55-60% biodegradable organic waste, which can be converted into organic compost or biogas; 25- 30% non-biodegradable dry waste; and around 15% silt, stones, and drain waste.

• Of the non-biodegradable dry waste, only 2-3% — including hard plastics, metals, and e-waste — is recyclable. The remainder consists of low-grade plastic, rags, and cloth that can’t be recycled. This fraction of the non-recyclable dry waste is the most challenging portion of the present SWM system; the presence of these materials also reduces the efficiency of recycling other dry and wet waste.

• It is this portion that waste-to-energy plants use to generate power. The waste is combusted to generate heat, which is converted into electricity.

Q3. Which of the following is/are challenges of waste-to-energy plants?

1. The low calorific value of solid waste in India due to improper segregation

2. Biodegradable waste has high moisture content and cannot be used for power generation

3. The cost of generating power from waste is high

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a. 1 and 2 only

b. 2 and 3 only

c. 2 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Why Do Waste-To-Energy Plants Fail?

While waste-to-energy plants seem like a simple solution, they have several challenges en route to becoming feasible.

• First is the low calorific value of solid waste in India due to improper segregation.

• Biodegradable waste has high moisture content and cannot be used for power generation. The calorific value of segregated and dried non-recyclable dry waste is much higher, at 2,800-3,000 kcal/kg, sufficient to generate power.

• However, segregation (ideally at the source, if not at the processing plant) should be streamlined to ensure the waste coming to the facility has this calorific value.

• Second is the high costs of energy production. The cost of generating power from waste is around ₹7-8/unit, while the cost at which the States’ electricity boards buy power from coal, hydroelectric, and

solar power plants is around ₹3-4/unit. While State electricity boards are considering purchasing power from newer renewable energy sources like waste-to-energy, the price of the power generated needs to halve.

• Finally, many waste-to-energy projects have failed because of improper assessments, high expectations, improper characterisation studies, and other on-ground conditions.

Waste-to-energy projects can consume only non-recyclable dry waste, which is about 25% of the waste; they are expected to only use segregated non-recyclable dry waste as well, which is the only type of waste with a sufficiently high calorific value. But often these projects are expected to manage all types of waste generated in the city which is not good.

Q4. Which of the following cities has been declared as the first tourism and cultural capital of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)?

a. Jaipur

b. Beijing

c. Mosco

d. Varanasi

Answer (d)

Explanation:

What is the SCO, which recently held a tourism ministers’ conference in Varanasi

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental organisation currently comprising eight Member States – China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Which Countries Are Part Of The SCO?

The SCO currently comprises eight “Member States” (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) with four “Observer States” (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia) interested in full membership. Both India and Pakistan became full members of the SCO in 2017. The process of granting Iran “Member State” status was started in 2021 and is likely to be completed this year.

What does the SCO do?

The SCO was founded with the primary aim to address security-related concerns, with addressing regional terrorism, ethnic separatism and religious extremism top in its list of priorities. In 2004, at the SCO Summit held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) was established. Through RATS, SCO members share crucial intelligence, know-how, legal expertise as well as allow for extradition of terrorists. According to The Diplomat, as of 2017, 600 would-be terror attacks had been nullified and more than 500 terrorists extradited using RATS.

What Was The Conference In Varanasi About?

The recent conference was aimed at improving tourism. At the end of the meeting, a joint action plan for implementing the agreement between the Member States on cooperation in the tourism sector was finalised and approved. It comprises promotion of the SCO tourism brand, promotion of the cultural heritage of member states; sharing of information and digital technologies in tourism; and promotion of mutual cooperation in medical and health tourism.

The member countries will also undertake various activities jointly, such as SCO tourism exhibition, SCO Food Festival, webinars and seminars on tourism, conference and expert sessions on promotion of tourism in the region.

The meeting also adopted the Action Plan for ‘Year of Tourism

Development in the SCO Space in 2023’. The document identifies a list of activities and events to promote and showcase tourism products of SCO member states. Notably, Varanasi has been declared as the first tourism and cultural capital of SCO.

Q5. Consider the following statements with respect to the low temperature thermal desalination (LTTD)

1. The LTTD exploits the difference in temperature in ocean water at the surface and at depths of about 600 feet

2. The process can be made green using ocean thermal energy technology

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a. 1 only

b. 2 only

c. Both 1 and 2

d. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (c)

Explanation:

NIOT to set up green, self-powered desalination plant in Lakshadweep

Stepping up from its ongoing initiative of providing potable water on six islands of Lakshadweep using low temperature thermal desalination (LTTD) technology, the Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) is working at making this process free of emissions.

Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) Technology:

• The LTTD exploits the difference in temperature (nearly 15 degrees Celsius) in ocean water at the surface and at depths of about 600 feet.

• This cold water condenses water at the surface, which is warmer but whose pressure has been lowered using vacuum pumps. Such depressurised water can evaporate even at ambient temperatures, this resulting vapour when condensed is free of salts and contaminants and fit to consume.

• However, the need for diesel power to reduce the water pressure means that the process is not fossil-fuel free and also consumes diesel, a precious commodity on the islands that has to be shipped from the mainland, critical for powering the electric grid.

National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT)

• The NIOT, an institute under the aegis of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), has worked for years on harnessing energy from the ocean. However, ocean thermal technology, while plausible for

islands, was unlikely to be useful for supplying power onshore. “For such plants to work, we need a large gradient [difference in temperature between the surface and the ocean depths].

• In Lakshadweep, these depths can be achieved fairly easily unlike, say, off the coast of Chennai. It will make the power produced this way extremely expensive.